In the following years after the loss of the Last Hoard, whose dazzling coins went tumbling down into the salty depths, the crew of the Golden Gull carried on as they had in the days before the hunt for the legendary treasure. They sought adventure on the high seas - charting new courses through undiscovered islands, seeking fortune in forgotten tombs, finding trouble and merriment in every port from the freezing north to the arid south - all while dodging the galleons of the empire.
It was only their illustrious Captain Fairfeather who appeared changed by the tragic loss of the Last Hoard. So close. He was so close. All those years of searching. All those crewmates lost along the way. He could feel the cold clink of the gold in his palms and see its warm light on those cave walls. But it was that or his crew. He chose his crew.
The way he stands on deck and stares at the horizon - as he always has done - has a different air about it now. Some might understand it as sorrow, or remorse, or resentment. But not I. I’ve known him too long to misunderstand that look - it’s relief. With those mountains of coins on the bottom of the aquamarine sea, our beloved Captain Fairfeather no longer has the obsession of them weighing on his shoulders. For the first time in his life, he is free.
Paddy Dobson
8th April 2022